


Belated

by AirgiodSLV



Category: The Lord of the Rings RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-10-19
Updated: 2005-10-19
Packaged: 2019-07-20 13:24:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16138154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AirgiodSLV/pseuds/AirgiodSLV
Summary: Elijah wakes, and the situation he finds himself in is both familiar and new, unexpected and already known. Familiar because he’s enfolded in warm arms, tugged up against someone’s chest, pleasantly aching in a way that’s difficult to mistake for anything else. New because it’s never been this chest before, these arms, the scent of this cologne that he’s sniffed for years but has never found pressed into his skin and surrounding him.





	Belated

**Author's Note:**

> Ficlet for the lovely [](https://kaydeefalls.livejournal.com/profile)[**kaydeefalls**](https://kaydeefalls.livejournal.com/), who stumped me with a shockingly distinctive line from [A Casket of Mismatched Jewels](http://airgiodslv.dombillijah.com/stories/casket.html) and requested first-time Dom/Elijah.

Elijah wakes, and the situation he finds himself in is both familiar and new, unexpected and already known. Familiar because he’s enfolded in warm arms, tugged up against someone’s chest, pleasantly aching in a way that’s difficult to mistake for anything else. New because it’s never been this chest before, these arms, the scent of this cologne that he’s sniffed for years but has never found pressed into his skin and surrounding him.

Unexpected because he never thought that this would ever happen, not in a million more years of friendship. He’d never looked for it, never held his breath hoping, never even wondered beyond a stray thought here or there. And already known, because he doesn’t have to open his eyes to know who’s holding him, and the faint taste of beer left in the back of his mouth is nowhere near enough for him to claim drunkenness last night, or to feign forgetfulness. They both walked into this with open eyes.

“Hey,” Elijah says, mouth sleep-sticky and reluctant, eyes open now and watching Dom watch him, without any of the half-dreaded emotions (horror, guilt, apology) Elijah had almost expected to see on his face.

“Good morning,” Dom says, voice gravelly, and Elijah’s mind tells him that it’s time to fidget now, to pick at threads and look away and act embarrassed, but his body ignores that and shifts slightly closer, chasing the warmth, and Dom automatically adjusts his embrace to accommodate. Dom’s skin is warm, and soft, and still smells of the cologne he wears every day, the cologne Elijah could smell on his own skin when he woke.

They’re looking at each other now. “So,” Elijah says, and smiles, because this doesn’t feel awkward and it probably should, they should have talked about this last night, and they should definitely talk about it now, but for some reason he doesn’t really care all that much.

Dom smiles back at him, eyes scrunched up and hair sticking every which way against the pillow, still not making any move to pull back. They’re laying on their sides, facing each other, Dom’s arms around Elijah and Elijah’s hands folded between their chests, and this is not at all how Elijah would have pictured this conversation happening.

“What do you think took us so long?” Dom asks cheekily, and Elijah laughs, shaking his head and hearing the pillow rustle as he moves. He would relax at that, if there was anything in him to ease. But there isn’t; he’s as relaxed as he’s ever been, resting and content.

“Maybe we weren’t ready,” Elijah offers, and his palms open against Dom’s chest, fingertips soaking up the heat of his skin. He realizes with a pleasant shock that they’re jump-starting this relationship, in a lot of ways – Elijah doesn’t have to explain the mismatched sizes of his testicles; they don’t have to compare bands and movies they like; Dom’s favored brands of beer and tea are already in the cabinets. It’s like they went through the relationship first, and the sex came last.

Dom shifts forward, and Elijah meets his lips without thought, a soft caress of good morning and sunlight, tongues flickering out briefly to taste before they ease back, still smiling. Elijah strokes Dom’s chest, almost distractedly, and feels the urge to laugh bubble up inside of him at the matching amusement in Dom’s eyes.

Elijah traces Dom’s lips with his fingertip, warmth on his face, and sighs out with the sunshine. “Maybe we're ready now.”


End file.
